Jessie Reyez is making her voice heard. Since breaking onto the international stage with her debut EP Kiddo in 2017, the internationally celebrated artist has always been outspoken about the barriers faced by women and BIPOC musicians in the industry. With a sound that blends R&B, hip-hop and pop, Reyez has five Junos to her name, as well as Grammy and MTV Video Music Award nominations, and as her star has risen, she’s made sure to keep social causes at the forefront of her art.

On 2017’s “Gatekeeper,” she addressed misogyny in the music industry, telling the story of a violent experience with a sexually abusive producer. Her 2019 single “Far Away” foregrounded violence against immigrants and the separation of families at the U.S./Mexico border, accompanied by a powerful music video that won the 2020 Prism Prize. In 2020, Reyez marched with protesters in Toronto after the murder of George Floyd and highlighted the Black Lives Matter movement as she performed the national anthem from the CN Tower.

That same year, Reyez released her acclaimed debut album Before Love Came to Kill Us and received the Billboard Women in Music Impact Award. “I’ve always said that being born a woman on this earth is like being born walking uphill,” she said. “There are so many burdens and bags that we carry and manage to do so with grace.”

Her second album Yessie brought her to even more ears, and she's collaborated and toured with artists from Billie Eilish to Eminem, Big Sean and Sam Smith. She’s been a hitmaker behind the scenes, too, penning songs for artists including Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa. From recent collaborations with Lil Wayne and Big Sean to a Ted Talk on turning pain into power, Jessie Reyez continues to take her place as an in-demand artist and collaborator on the world stage – and blaze her path forward.